All posts tagged Election 2012

While American President Barack Obama looks set to be back for a second term, key members of his foreign policy team — including his main Japan advisors — likely won't be.

Mr. Obama's secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is widely expected to leave at the end of his first term. That is likely to set off a domino effect of personnel changes in the State Department, including some key officials in charge of Asia and Japan policies. Read More »

UPDATE:U.S. Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono defeated former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. Ms. Hirono becomes the Aloha State's first woman senator as well as the first Japan-born immigrant to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

As Japan's politicians jockey over when to hold the next general election, one of Japan's own is on the cusp of making U.S. election history.

Recent polls show Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono is favored to win the open Senate seat in Hawaii when voters cast their ballots Tuesday. If successful, Ms. Hirono will usher in a wave of firsts. She will be the first Japanese immigrant to be elected senator. She will also be the first Buddhist and Asian-American woman. She will be the first woman senator to represent the Aloha State, and is already the first foreign-born woman of Asian ancestry to be sworn into Congressional office. Read More »

When American voters go to the polls Tuesday, they’re choosing a leader for Japan’s most important ally. What does the contest mean for Tokyo?

Democratic President Barack Obama is, of course, more a known quantity for Japan, from the time he came to Tokyo a few months after taking office, bowing (somewhat controversially) to the Emperor and reminiscing about the green-tea ice cream he had sampled during a boyhood visit. During his term, relations have largely been smooth — seen as strengthened, even, by close military cooperative relief work in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. There have been tense moments, however, notably over American pressure to move forward with a controversial base relocation plan in Okinawa.

Mr. Obama’s Republican challenger, Mitt Romney is more a cipher for Japan. He has little exposure to the country and doesn’t seem to have said much about Japan over the years. Read More »

They can't vote in this week's U.S. presidential election, but a group of citizens in a western Japanese town plan to use the power of prayer to nudge President Barack Obama toward reelection victory.

The group hails from a town of about 30,000 that shares the president's name, Obama, which means “little beach” in Japanese. They have been going strong since Mr. Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008, and plan a prayer session for him next Wednesday, the day the election results will be announced in Japan. Read More »

How many times did U.S. President Barack Obama and his opponent, Mitt Romney, mention Japan in their three election debates this month? Zero. How many times did they utter the word China? 53.

The frequency of the mention of certain foreign nations in presidential debates is by no means the most accurate measure of the U.S. government’s diplomatic priorities. But it is often a good indicator of the levels of interest American voters are believed to have in each foreign affairs issue. Read More »

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